2012 - A Tremendous Opportunity in Oakland Education

December 28, 2011

In News Blog

Thank you for your belief in our vision of an Oakland where all children receive the schooling and support they need to live successful, fulfilling lives. Strong public schools are the single best investment we can make to ensure a more positive, healthy future for our neighborhoods and our city.

2011 was a pivotal year for our city's public schools. Our school board unanimously adopted Superintendent Tony Smith's Thriving Students strategic plan to create high-quality, full-service community schools across the city. GO Public Schools played a key role providing information, bringing stakeholders together, and advocating for policies that will help us achieve our vision of an Oakland with great schools and diverse programs in every neighborhood. Check out the GO Holiday Newsletter to read more.

2012 will bring tremendous opportunity for impact and improvement on behalf of Oakland students.

•  Our community will have the opportunity to elect 4 of the 7 seats on our school board. GO will work to help Oaklanders be "education voters" and ensure we have leaders with the vision and capacity to make all our schools centers of opportunity for young people in the 21^st century.
•  GO will also support parents and teachers to develop an "Effective Teaching Road Map" which identifies policy changes in key areas such as teacher assignment, evaluation and professional development, teacher leadership, principals' role in supporting teachers, and central office practices that support teachers in full-service community schools.
• In partnership with community allies, GO will be kicking off an "All Kids, All Schools, Our Decisions" campaign to ensure school communities throughout the city have the authority to make decisions about staffing, curriculum, budgets, and schedules in the best interest of children.

We need your support to continue this important work, now more than ever. Your financial contributions enable us to continue to sustain our policy and communications staff, organize events for Oaklanders to stay informed, and provide translated materials to support families in all neighborhoods to participate. Please consider making a contribution towards our shared vision this holiday season.

This is long-haul work and I look forward to continuing the journey toward quality for ALL Oakland students with you in 2012. Wishing you happy holidays and a peaceful and healthy new year.

My best,

Jonathan Klein
Co-Founder

P.S. I'm excited to share that I will be joining the GO team as our full-time Executive Director in January. We have an extraordinary staff, dedicated board, and our growing network is positioned to catalyze powerful changes for Oakland students.

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